He stared through the window and contemplated the day. Terrence was driving him into New York. He could manage the drive, but he deferred to his doctor’s orders. No driving for another two weeks. The doc had a point, not that he’d publicly admit to agreeing with him.
He and Mouse had a lot of ground to cover. She wanted to be free of Peña and Rubio, and he wanted answers. What in the hell would possess Peña to go after him? How could they prove it was in fact Peña who went after him and not one of the many people Ryker had put in jail? His team cleared that logic trail, going back through cases, checking on whereabouts of his previous collars, examining those that had been paroled and recent prison releases. As of this time, the answer was a big, fat no.
Then there was the school of thought that what had occurred was an initiation. Take out one of the big gears in HCPD to earn your way into a gang. The only problem with that line of thinking was that there had been no other attacks against officers in the HCPD, which there would have been if a gang had changed the jump-in process.
Callaway and Forsythe were still working the case, and the geofence had netted the number that called his phone right before the shooting. Unfortunately, it hadn’t pinged against any tower since then. Probably resting at the bottom of a sewer drain or in the landfill without a battery. So, in the absence of any other theory, Peña took centerstage, and Mouse was the only option he had to make sense of what was going on.
His cell vibrated, but he couldn’t reach it. Brie was lying on his good arm and he couldn’t lift his other arm that far yet. Brie jolted awake when he moved. “It’s just my phone.” He watched as awareness descended on her. She sat up and carefully stretched past him, retrieving it. He used his finger to swipe the face of the phone as Brie headed, gloriously naked, into the bathroom. “Terrell.”
“Hey. Do you want to meet me somewhere? I don’t want to lead anyone to your new digs, just in case someone is watching.” Terrence’s voice was too damn chipper for this time in the morning.
“I’ll go with Brie to her restaurant. Pick me up there at about…” He glanced at Brie, who was padding back to the bed. She held up her fingers, indicating ten. It would make for a late return, but it was Brie’s first day back today and he wouldn’t see her until after midnight. “Ten.”
“Fine, but you’re buying dinner.” Terrence ended the call, and he dropped the phone onto his stomach. “Sorry to wake you up.”
Brie made a humming noise and snuggled up next to him. “What are you doing today? The doctor said no work for two more weeks.”
“I have to go into New York to talk to a witness. Someone who may have an idea why someone would go after me.”
She lurched up onto her elbow, startling him. “Who is going with you?” Her eyes were a bit wild behind the fall of dark brown hair.
“Lieutenant Theron.” He frowned and pushed the hair from her face with his good arm. “Don’t worry, babe. I don’t take unnecessary chances. What happened last week was a freak thing.”
She sagged. “It was only last week, wasn’t it? Sometimes it seems longer, but other times I’m right back at the hospital waiting to hear from the doctor about your injuries.” She leaned her cheek into her hand. “Speaking of that, have you talked to your brothers since they stopped by the hospital that morning?”
He closed his eyes. They had all reached out to him, but he hadn’t responded. He needed to return their calls and texts. “No, and that’s on me. Every one of them has either called or texted. I haven't returned their gestures.”
“How about we have them over for dinner on Saturday? I’m going back on a limited schedule until you go to work, and I thought I’d come home after dinner service has started. After that, it is pretty much downhill. I can do the accounting and the deposits the next day. Roger can lock up the register drawer when the front doors close.” She laid down on his good shoulder and slid her long leg over his.
“Are you sure?” He turned his head so he could see her.
“Yeah, this past week I’ve realized just how much time I’ve been spending at the restaurant. I can work from ten in the morning until seven at night and handle everything. I was usually helping prep, but in reality, we can hire someone to do that. It would seem there is something in my life more important than my restaurant now. So… Saturday?”
“Saturday?” He searched his brain for any reason to postpone that event but couldn’t come up with even a ghost of an excuse. “Yeah, sure. Saturday.”
“Perfect. I can invite down Brody and Amber.” She yawned and cuddled closer.
“No, let’s hold off with that. I think the first time I meet with all of them, I should probably do it alone.”
“Alone? Oh, okay, I can find something to do at the restaurant.”
“No. I meant without the others. I’ve seen how inviting your family grows into a major affair. Just you and me this time, and we’ll include the clan later. Besides, I’d like you to get to know my brothers.” He ran his fingertips up and down her arm in a lazy caress.
Now that he understood what had happened on his brothers’ side of their joint past, he was trying to put the pain behind him. Trying, and mostly succeeding. There were still lingering